Court Limits Taser Use: Controversial overuse of technology

Most of us has seen a Taser in action, be it in real life or on the TV, we also know that it produces a high amount of electricity to incapacitate an aslant. If you are on the receiving end of a Taser, you will experience pain due to your muscles contracting. These devices were introduced to the police as a non-lethal weapon, able to apprehend someone without the need to shoot them.

Over the years use of the Taser gun has become controversial, due to a number of incidents where a number of people have died. The U.N has raised their concern that these are used as a device for torture, which you can read more about on Wikipedia.

So we know that these devices are dangerous, but did you know that it is legal to own a Taser in some states in the U.S. However, these are very different to the models that the police use. The Taser available in certain states take 30 seconds before you can use it again, whereas the police version is ready to use in just 5 seconds. Read more on iTaser.com.

On Tuesday, a federal court ruled that the police would have to limit the use of Tasers. This means that if someone who is unarmed confronts a law enforcement officer but acting strangely, they will not be permitted to use the weapon. These are classed as low-level offenders; this is seen as a small victory for those who have campaigned against the use of Tasers.

We know that a Taser is seen as a non-lethal weapon, but there have been occasions where police officers have overused them. Would you believe that 350 American have died due to being shocked by a Taser? According to Creative Loafing, one man was shocked for 37 seconds, and then shocked a second time, he later died. It is hoped that this ruling will help to save lives.